Hi folks,
I'm new to this forum. I recently decided to rebuild our tiki bar - the Pu'uhonua Bar.
It was housed in a bali hut and was damaged during storms. So its now under cover and undergoing a revamp, same name, and will shortly reemerge. I'll post some more pics during progress.

I live in Hervey Bay, Queensland Australia and some of you may know of me via the Islands of the Fraternal Order of Moai under my other guise Less is Moai.

I've enjoyed scrolling through some of the amazing bar projects on these pages. You know how it is - too much tiki is barely enough!

I love that name...LOL. Looking forward to seeing your progress...go ahead and take some pictures to post now...we love to see start to never-finished.
_________________ "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"

On 2013-04-14 23:19, VampiressRN wrote:I love that name...LOL. Looking forward to seeing your progress...go ahead and take some pictures to post now...we love to see start to never-finished.

Thanks for the encouragement. Here's (hopefully) an image of the bar as it was in our bali hut. You should be able to just see the front and side. I've since moved it under cover and stripped it back to the frame. Unfortunately had to ditch the Fijian tapa that was on the front because of water damage from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.

The Pu'uhonua bar now has a new skin and I'm adding some tiki inspired art. I'll post some pics shortly.

Here's some pics of progress so far. The bar is in its new location and now has a new skin and internal shelves. I'm adding art to the front and side panels and have decided to leave the rest of the timber as is and give it a coat of varnish to bring out the grain.

The daybed was manufactured on 1 February 1960 according to handwritten note inside it and I have restored it to its former glory. I found this piece on ebay down the coast and bought it for $80. Bargain!

Love the artwork you are doing on the front of the bar. Great find with the daybed. I love little treasures like that. I have items now with notes tucked in them. Never know what tomorrow brings and leaving surprises for people is fun.

Hi folks here's some pics of the latest work. Not much progress I know but I promise to pull my finger out and get on with it.

While you're waiting I thought you might be interested to see what the other end of the outdoor room features. I've attempted to tikify this space so the Pu'uhonua Bar will be a welcome addition once its complete.

The bamboo shutters are actually doors that pivot on a centre post. They can be opened to any angle and are good to catch breezes no matter which direction the wind blows. I got the idea from a scene in the movie South Pacific. The bit where Joe Cable goes into Bloody Mary's little jungle hideaway for a bit of hanky panky with Liat. If you watch closely you'll see the very same doors. The idea impressed me when I first saw it many years ago and eventually I got to build some. The doors are made out of lattice frame timber (treated pine) and the bamboo came in a roll, the bamboo posts wired together. Easy peasy.

By way of proving my tiki credentials, here's some pics of my modest mug collection and other bits of stuff that has washed up on these shores:

I made the clock to go over the bar when its in place. Not sure if you can see the details in this photo but all of the numbers on the dial are 5 - its always the cocktail hour here.

And last but not least here's a pic of Mitzi the tiki cat who will no doubt guard the Pu'uhonua Bar and a pic showing (in the distance) Point Vernon, Hervey Bay where I live with Mrs. Howell.

The final thing I should add is this: We live in Australia and as you know Australia is the worlds largest island. We do enjoy the island lifestyle even though I can't walk to the other side, nor to the top or bottom.